Ocala lawyer wins $19M victory against Ford

An Ocala attorney has garnered a $19 million lawsuit victory against the Ford Motor Co. after more than 10 years battling the American automotive giant.

By Vishal PersaudStaff writer

An Ocala attorney has garnered a $19 million lawsuit victory against the Ford Motor Co. after more than 10 years of battling the American automotive giant.Last Friday's verdict was the second time Bruce Kaster and his staff have won in Miami circuit court, convincing jurors that Ford had known about handling and stability problems with its Explorer and never divulged consumers about the defects."They've tied me up for 10 years in this case," Kaster said in a phone interview.In 1997, a woman lost control of a 1996 Ford Explorer, causing the vehicle to roll over. The accident ejected 17-year-old Lance Hall, who was asleep in the passenger seat. He died at the crash scene in Collier County.After working on the case for more than five years, Kaster won a $61 million verdict for Hall's family in 2005. But it was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court after Ford appealed the decision.The court of appeal at the time contended that the trial court in Miami had erred in "allowing certain evidence of other accidents to be introduced at trial," according to court records.In last week's decision, Kaster said he argued the same case he had in 2005, pointing out that during jury selection, potential jurors were appalled when they heard all of the details of the case.Prior to the decision, the case had gone to trial three other times in Miami.Kaster said he believes that if Ford decides to appeal the decision again, it won't be overturned this time around."I, quite frankly, don't think it will be overturned," he said.Representatives from Ford could not be reached for comment. But according to previous reports, the company contended that it was not responsible for the accident and said the driver of the Explorer was at fault.Kaster said the Hall family was never interested in the money, but wants to put it to good use.Hall's mother, Joan Hall-Edwards, plans to create college scholarship funds for underprivileged youth in her son's name, Kaster said."She doesn't want the money. She wants a legacy for him," he said.Contact Vishal Persaud at 867-4065, vishal.persaud@starbanner.com or on Twitter @vishalpersaud.